Forever 21
| location = | locations = 723 (As of August 2015)"#162 Forever 21", Forbes, n.d. Retrieved 1 May 2014. | key_people = Do Won Chang (CEO) | num_employees = 30,000 (2016)"Forever 21." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2014. | industry = Apparel |founder = Do Won Chang and Jin Sook Chang | products = Clothing, accessories | revenue = US$ 4 billion (2016) | assets = US$ 1.4 billion (2011) | profit = US$ 124 million (2011) | homepage = }} Forever 21, stylized as FOREVER 21, is an American fast fashion retailer headquartered in Los Angeles, California. Forever 21 began as the store called Fashion 21 with in Highland Park, Los Angeles, in 1984, and has grown into the clothing lines Forever 21, XXI Forever, Love 21 and Heritage with over 600 stores in the Americas, Asia, the Middle East and the UK. Forever 21. History & Facts ,n.d. Retrieved 27 April 2014. Forever 21 is known for its trendy offerings and low pricing.Chang, Andrea, "Forever 21 Agrees to Grab Gottschalks Locations", Los Angeles Times, 22 May 2009. Retieved 14 May 2014.Earnest, Leslie, "Forever 21 to Acquire Retailer Gadzooks", Los Angeles Times, 18 February 2005. Retrieved 14 May 2014. More than 60% of its apparel is made in China and the average store size is . The company sells accessories, beauty products, home goods and clothing for women, men and girls. The company has been involved in various controversies, ranging from labor practice issues to copyright infringement accusations to religion. The clothing is sold to all ages, from toddler to adult. History , which closed in spring 2018 and was replaced by a Uniqlo.]] Originally known as Fashion 21"Iconic businesses from the year you were born: 1984", MSN.com. Retrieved 28 July 2017., the store was founded in Los Angeles on 21 April 1984 by husband and wife, Do Won Chang and Jin Sook Chang from Korea."6 Things You Didn’t Know About Forever 21", WhippedSTYLE, 25 March 2011. Retrieved 28 April 2014. The store is located at 5637 N. Figueroa Street in the Highland Park district of Los Angeles and is still in operation, bearing the chain's original name. Designs similar to those seen in South Korea were sold to and targeted at the Los Angeles Korean American community. In its first year in operation, sales totaled $700,000 and, by 2013, there were more than 480 stores and a revenue of $3.7 billion. Do Won Chang. "Interview with CEO and Founder of Forever 21", CNN, 28 April 2014. In February 2014, Forever 21 generated a revenue of $3.8 billion and in 2017, Forever 21 generated a revenue of $3.4 billion . Originally, Forever 21 only sold clothes for women but later expanded to sell menswear. Most Forever 21 stores now sell clothes for men and women, including plus size clothing for women. On its website, it also sells girls' clothing and home/lifestyle products. Controversies Employee relations and safety *In September 2001, the Asian Pacific American Legal Center and the Garment Worker Center, workers’ advocacy groups, filed a lawsuit against Forever 21, charging them of violating labor practice laws.Cleeland, Nancy. Against Forever 21 Alleges Unfair Labor Practices", Los Angeles Times, 7 September 2001. Retrieved 28 April 2014. They claimed that 19 contracted employees received less than the minimum wage, that the hours on time cards were reduced, that workers who complained to the state were fired, and that the employees faced sweatshop-like working conditions. Forever 21 denied the accusations, asserting its commitment to fair labor practices and that "none of the workers named in the suit were directly employed by the company". A three-year boycott of Forever 21 was held throughout the United States by the garment workers and this movement was captured in the Emmy Award-winning documentary, Made in L.A.''Berfield, Susan. "Forever 21's Fast (and Loose) Fashion Empire", ''Bloomberg Business Week, 20 January 2011. Retrieved 28 April 2014. Although the charge was dismissed by U.S. District Court Judge Manuel Real, Forever 21 responded with a defamation suit in 2002.Cleeland, Nancy. "Forever 21 Files Defamation Suit Against Groups", Los Angeles Times, 7 March 2002. Retrieved 28 April 2014. Attorney Robin D. Dal Soglio asserted that both Forever 21's reputation and its sales were impacted by the allegations and protests. On the other hand, Kimi Lee, the director of one of the advocacy groups that represented the workers, maintained that the lawsuits were justified due to complaints from 20 workers. Both cases ended in a settlement in December 2004.Earnest, Leslie. "Forever 21 Settles Dispute With Garment Workers", Los Angeles Times, 15 December 2004. Retrieved 28 April 2014. * Five Forever 21 employees filed a class action lawsuit in January 2012, declaring they were not compensated for the time they worked during their lunch breaks and the time spent on bag checks.Hines, Alice. "Forever 21 Class Action Lawsuit Filed By Employees", The Huffington Post, 18 January 2012. Retrieved 28 April 2014. * After the Labor Department found that some of Forever 21's suppliers had violated various federal laws on wages and record keeping, a subpoena was ordered in August 2012.Li, Shan, "Forever 21 Investigated for Vendors' Alleged 'sweatshop' Conditions", Los Angeles Times, 29 October 2012. Retrieved 28 April 2014. U.S. District Court Judge Margaret Morrow ordered Forever 21’s compliance after the retailer failed to provide the documents.Hsu, Tiffany. "Judge Orders Forever 21 to Hand over Subpoenaed Documents", Los Angeles Times, 14 March 2013. Retrieved 28 April 2014. The retailer claimed that it tried to meet with the Labor Department and that it had provided the requested information. In July 2014, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recommended fines in excess of $100,000 for three different retail locations in Northern New Jersey and Manhattan in New York City for "serious safety hazards", for which they had been cited since 2010. Copyright controversies * According to Forbes, 50 copyright violation lawsuits have been placed against Forever 21. "Jin Sook & Do Won Chang", Forbes, 28 April 2014.Sauers, Jenna, "How Forever 21 Keeps Getting Away With Designer Knockoffs", Jezebel, 20 July 2011. Diane von Fürstenberg sued the retailer insisting it copied four of her dresses."Diane Von Furstenberg v. Forever 21 - Fashion Designer Lawsuits", Elle, 28 April 2014. Gwen Stefani, Anna Sui and Trovata are among the designers who have also taken action against the retailer. During the Trovata case in May 2009, the jury agreed with Trovata. The two sides reached a settlement.Sauers, Jenna, "Lagerfeld Slams Big Women; Louboutin Slams Barbie's Ankles", Jezebel, 12 October 2009. * Critics such as Susan Scafidi, a professor of copyright law at Fordham University, question Forever 21’s design process and argue that it is replicating the designs of others.Wiseman, Eva, "The Gospel According to Forever 21", The Observer, 17 July 2011. Forever 21’s Vice President of Merchandise, Lisa Boisset, was quoted in 2007 as saying that Forever 21 works with merchant designers and not with designers, but would not make those merchants available for comment.La Ferla, Ruth, "Faster Fashion, Cheaper Chic", The New York Times, 9 May 2007. CEO Chang said that some of their merchants had disappointed him. Forever 21 has never been found guilty and the majority of cases have been resolved through settlements. * On 8 January 2015, Canadian media reported on a local, family-owned business in Richmond, British Columbia, Granted Clothing, whose designer noticed that their sweater designs had been stolen and mass-produced for sale on Forever 21's website. - - - In April 2015, both parties resolved the matter on "amicable terms", settling out of court.Harowitz, Sara, "Granted Clothing, B.C. Store, Says Forever 21 Stole Its Designs", Huffington Post, 30 April 2015. * On 28 January 2015, the software developers Adobe, Autodesk and Corel filed a joint lawsuit against Forever 21 for allegedly using unlicensed copies of Photoshop, AutoCAD and PaintShop Pro, respectively. - Other controversies * Forever 21's clothing has been criticized in the media due to the slogans printed on some of its shirts. The Daily Mail, The Huffington Post and others insisted that the company was "…pushing a Christian agenda" because it sold tops with phrases such as "Holy", "Love, peace, faith, hope, Jesus", and "Thank God".Dumas, Daisy, "Fashion Chain Forever 21 Accused of Pushing Religious Agenda with Christian-themed T-shirts", Mail Online, 11 August 2011. Retrieved April 2014. Similarly, Forever 21 has received attention in the media for printing the Bible verse "John 3:16" on the bottom of its trademark yellow bags.Kolben, Deborah, "Evangelism in Fashion", The New York Sun, 18 August 2006. Retrieved 29 April 2014. The corporation maintains that it is not influenced by the religion of its founders, who are born-again Christians. Moreover, ABC News, numerous users on Reddit and others condemned Forever 21 for its "Allergic to Algebra" shirt in 2011.Ng, Christina, "Forever 21′s ‘Allergic to Algebra’ Shirt Draws Criticism", ABC News, 12 September 2011. Retrieved 25 April 2014. They declared that the shirt had an anti-education and sexist theme, but Ellie Krupnick, a writer for The Huffington Post, questioned this.Krupnick, Ellie, "'Allergic To Algebra' Tee From Forever 21 Under Fire", The Huffington Post, 12 September 2011. Retrieved 28 April 2014. Krupnick's view was that the top was making a remark about mathematics, rather than a sexist remark, and announced that she would wear it. * In April 2010, Rachel Kane, a writer and Forever 21 customer created a blog with the domain name WTForever21.com.Little, Lyneka, "Forever 21 Threatens Blogger With Lawsuit for WTForever21 Site", ABC News, 8 June 2011. Kane posted pictures of some Forever 21 items and voiced her opinions about the clothing. The blog's popularity rose after being featured on the ''Jezebel'' blog and, in June 2011, the retailer asked the blogger to take the site down or she might face a lawsuit. * The Center for Environmental Health found that Forever 21 and 25 other retailers and suppliers sold jewelry that included the toxic metal cadmium. A payment of $1.03 million and a 0.03% limit on cadmium in jewelry were part of the settlement that took place in 2011.Chang, Andrea, "Retailers Settle Suit over Cadmium in Jewelry", Los Angeles Times, 7 September 2011. * Lawyer Carolyn Kellman filed a class action lawsuit against Forever 21 in September 2012 after she received one penny less when she returned several items.Adams, Rebecca, "Carolyn Kellman Sues Forever 21 Over Alleged 'Penny-Pinching Scheme'", The Huffington Post, 5 September 2012. Customers who received a penny less or were charged one more joined the case. According to The Huffington Post, these pennies added up as "The threshold for civil actions in her court district is $15,000 -- meaning, she had to find enough people to join the case so that she could cite 1.5 million pennies in damages (750,000 customers since 2007.)" Store count All stores are company-owned, except in the Middle East and the Philippines where the company operates as a 50% joint venture with a local partner. References External links * Official website * "Faster Fashion, Cheaper Chic", New York Times, 10 May 2007 * "Fast, Cheap and Under Control: The rise of Forever 21 and Downtown's wholesale economy", New Angeles Monthly, December 2007 * "Forever 21 favors 2 Mag Mile stores", Chicago Tribune, 19 April 2008 * "Fast-fashion concept fuels Forever 21's expansion", Los Angeles Times, 23 June 2008 Category:Retail companies established in 1984 Category:Clothing retailers of the United States Category:Clothing brands of the United States Category:Companies based in Los Angeles Category:Privately held companies based in California Category:2000s fashion Category:2010s fashion